The coming of age tale has been tried and test for quite a long time. Learning life's mysteries and hard lessons, learning the end of childhood innocence. When all the ingredients are so blatantly in front of director Rod Hardy, it's sad that December Boys never utilise them to make a point in four boys lives cinematic, or even engaging. December Boys treads all so familiar territory; seen it before, well you'll see it all over again. True to the fact movies can regurgitate the same plot and arc time and time again, it all depends how it's rearranged into something that looks new and exciting. As four orphans, all born in December, are taken on a holiday to a small beach community, all things are possible. Marc Rosenberg's screenplay based upon Michael Noonan's book, wonderment on how this was such an important moment in his life becomes hard to figure out. As time slowly lumbers by, the build to what could have been a beautiful coda, resides on a perfunctory thud. Where was this building to? Nowhere except to some gorgeous scenery. David Connell's cinematography injects some lovely, sweeping landscapes; if only the story swept you away this much. A tiresome story, stiff and rigid acting all round. For Daniel Radcliffe's first major role out of Harry Potter, better stick to what he knows. December Boys is a broken record of a tired theme.
Review of December Boys
